Working with Newspapers

This year we are going to use newspapers in class a lot to be informed about what is going on in the world. Every term you will have to select an article from a English newspaper, summarize it and present it to the class.

To begin with, let’s have a look at the

Structure of a newspaper article

Each newspaper article has a title (called the headline) that is set in large type. The writer of a newspaper article is often not credited; if the author is mentioned, this credit is called the author’s byline.

The beginning of each newspaper article (the first paragraph) is called the lead (one or two sentences long); the lead should summarize the main facts of the article, telling the 5 W’s (who, what, when, where, and why) and how. The first paragraph should also contain a hook, something that grabs the reader’s attention and makes the reader want to read the rest of the article.

The nut graph is the paragraph that contains the core information about the story and tells the reader why the story is important.

The remainder of the article contains supporting paragraphs that go into more detail about the topic, often including quotes and interesting facts. The less important information should appear later in the article, since the article may be cropped (shortened) by the editor (the person who puts the newspaper together) to make the article fit on the newspaper page.

The reporter’s opinions should not appear in the article – only the facts.

Each picture, graph or illustration should have a caption describing or explaining it.

English written Newspapers

There are hundreds of English written newspapers in the world, so I have decided to select the six from which you can find the article you want to summarize for the class. Two of them are British, two American and the last two Spanish, but published in English. You can click on the image of the flag to get to the online version:

Now, your task will be to select, read and summarize a newspapers article each term. To help you here you are some tips:

How to Summarize a Newspaper Article

1. Find the “5 W’s”and the “H”: who, what, when, where, why and how. These are the most basic facts that are found within a newspaper article and should be included when summarizing an article.

2. Add the main idea(s). The author of the newspaper article wrote the article to get a message across and to create a sentiment among readers and that message is the main idea. The main idea has a direct correlation with the “why” of the article because it is an extension of it.

3. Include supporting details. The details that first must be added are those that are imperative to the understanding of the article. Next, those details that give help with imagery can be added.

4. Finish your summary with a concluding sentence.

You can use the grid below to select relevant information from your story:

Good luck and enjoy your reading!!

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Once you have completed your summary we will be happy that you share it in class with us, so I will ask you to bring a copy of the original article and one of your summary to present it to the class. You should tell us the reasons why you chose it and also add a personal comment at the end (whatever feelings the article has aroused in you or any ideas it has inspired you).

ATTENTION: The article you choose must be from the two weeks previous to your presentation. The article should contain between 400 and 600 words.